Xander Zayas outboxes Jorge Garcia to become boxing’s youngest active world champion
Xander Zayas’ coronation is over. The 22 -year -old who has long been presented as the next Puerto Rico boxing star has become the youngest active world champion in sport on Saturday evening, beating Jorge Garcia Perez of Mexico by a unanimous decision to claim the average WBO weight title.
The issues could not have been clearer for Zayas, a prodigy who became professional at 17 and has since made an ascent measured in the ranks. With the victory in front of a rollicking crowd of several thousand at the theater at the Madison Square Garden, Zayas made years of promises while writing another chapter in the rivalry of Puerto Rico – Mexico.
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The fight was not the formality that some had considered. The steep Garcia, an awkward and unpredictable enemy, disturbed Zayas’ rhythm early with train attacks and greenhouse tactics. But the upper timing of the younger man, the leg game and the speed of the hand have gradually taken over. Zayas began to beat Garcia with a punch with pointed counters and clear combinations, breaking it down in the body and head while remaining in control against the erratic threat in front of him.
There have been few moments of real danger, but Garcia made it work for each round. He buzzed Zayas with a left toilet hook in the third and rallied late with a burst in the 10th, but each time, Zayas responded with composure. In the end, the ring judges marked 119-109, 118-110 and 116-112 in his favor. (The Guardian had 117-111.)
“This is what it is: growth,” said a delighted zayas. “You have seen me since the age of 16. You have seen the elevation of my game. Today, this is no exception. He came to fight. We knew he came to fight. We had to keep it at a distance and that is what we did. We frustrated him. “
Garcia (33-5, 26 kos), who obtained his shot with an upheaval of Charles Conwell by division decision of 12 laps in April, proved to be durable and determined, but lacked the tools to solve the mixture of balance, precision and Ringcraft of Zayas. He won 130 of the 603 punch (21.6%), according to compubox punch statistics, against 199 out of 522 for his opponent (38.1%).
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For Zayas (22-0, 14 KB), the victory ended a trip that started over 15 years ago in a San Juan boxing gymnasium, where his mother led him to learn to defend herself against intimidators. In a few months, it was a local feeling. At 10, he had already declared his professional ambitions. This path accelerated after his family moved to Sunrise, Florida, where he went under the supervision of coach Javiel Centeno, a mentoré of the Grand Angelo Dundee.
“My mother is my hero,” said Zayas. “She succeeded.
Zayas grew up by studying Puerto Rican Fist icons – Tito Trinidad, Macho Camacho, Wilfredo Benitez – and idolized Miguel Cotto, whose fighting has become family rituals. This heritage has always been its northern star. On Saturday, he completed the loop: in the same city where Cotto spent his biggest nights, against a Mexican standard bearer, Zayas has become the next great hope of Puerto Rico.
The belt he won on Saturday may only be the start. At 22, Zayas has time, talent and a dedicated fans base on his side. The 154 LB division is stacked with challenges and unification opportunities, the type of fighting that reveals how it can increase. “Anyone in the division can get it now,” said Zayas. “There is no race. I am world champion, and I have what they want. ”
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Zayas has long been considered by many as a polite and sympathetic perspective, but the questions remain while the first chapter of his career is coming to an end. Does he have the power to harm the elite of the division? Is it a book for book or a well-managed belt holder that could fail at the highest level? Saturday was not at night for these answers. Instead, it was the night when a 22 -year -old child from San Juan by Sunrise has made a dream for life and made his first brand on the tradition in the ocean of Porto Rican Boxing.
“It’s my new baby,” said Zayas, giving his Bejeweled trophy a soft pressure early Sunday morning. “I’m sleeping with that tonight. Could sleep with all week. It’s amazing. I worked hard for that. Almost 20 years as a boxer, six as a professional. The hard work has finally paid off. I told everyone that I was made for that. It was my moment. And we did it. “
